Even those who had never heard of Barpak heard about this scenic village of Gorkha district after last year's 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated much of central Nepal. Barpak is a historic village, with its roots tracing back to the pre-unification era of Nepal. When modern Nepal was not born, the Ghales, an indigenous Gurung clan, were the rulers of Barpak. They were strategically superior to the Shahs of Gorkha, a principality that later conquered other kingdoms, including Barpak, and gave birth to modern Nepal. Barpak was in a position to choke off the supply of salt to Gorkha. So the Shahs were afraid of the Ghales.
After the death of Gorkha's iconic king Drabya Shah, his son Purna Shaha (also referred to as Purandar Shah) ascended to the throne. During his reign, Gorkha attacked Barpak several times. Chagya Ghale was the king of Barpak at that time. His brother, Surtan Ghale, was also his trusted lieutenant.
Even those who had never heard of Barpak heard about this scenic village of Gorkha district after last year's 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated much of central Nepal. Barpak is a historic village, with its roots tracing back to the pre-unification era of Nepal.
During the battle, Barpak disrupted the supply of salt to Gorkha. A crisis unfolded in Gorkha, which was facing hostility from Lamjung and Tanahu at the same time. The battle dragged on, with neither side being able to force the other to retreat. So Gorkha proposed a friendship treaty which Barpak happily accepted.
After the treaty, Barpak began supplying 21 Muris of salt to Gorkha every year. Barpak also cleared the way for Gorkha to import salt from Tibet. This interesting nugget has been published in Prachin Nepal (Number 28, 2031 BS), the mouthpiece of the Department of Archeology of Nepal.
When the Ghales arrived, the Shahs took out their weapons and attacked them. Chagya was killed on the sport. A few other Ghale soldiers were also killed. Surtan managed to flee. The Gorkhali soldiers now began attack other kingdoms.
After Purna Shah's death, his son Chhatra Shah became the new king of Gorkha. But he died just seven months after becoming the new king. Ram Shah became the new king. In his reign, the relation between the two kingdoms soared. Ram Shah and his army once caught some Ghale soldiers from Barpak. But they were not killed. It made Chagya and Surtan Ghales think that Ram Shah was a good human being. They proposed friendship with Gorkha. Ram Shah discussed the proposal with his lieutenants. They advised him to use this proposal as a tactic to kill the Ghale king. So Ram Shah invited Chagya-Surtan for a friendship accord, Chagya-Surtan reached there without weapons, but Ram Shah and his army had already hidden their swords, knives and spears there.
When the Ghales arrived, the Shahs took out their weapons and attacked them. Chagya was killed on the sport. A few other Ghale soldiers were also killed. Surtan managed to flee. The Gorkhali soldiers now began attack other kingdoms. But they were, at the same time, looking for Surtan as well. When they were on their way to attack Salyantar, they received a tip off that Surtan was in Basyahari. So they cancelled their plan to Salyantar, and headed off to Basyahar to kill Surtan.
